People are only just realising how four people ‘stayed on the moon’ after Apollo landing

Social media users have been left baffled after learning four people were 'left on the moon' after the Apollo landings.

Mankind first landed on the moon in July 1969 during the Apollo 11 mission. Since then we've made a number of trips to the satellite orbiting our planet and astronauts sometimes leave items behind.

During Apollo 16 in 1972, spaceman Charles Duke left a heartwarming memento – a photo of his family. The framed picture, featuring Duke, his wife Dorothy and their two sons, is there to this day.

The post read: "During their exploration of the Descartes Highlands with the Lunar Rover, Duke left a unique token on the lunar surface: a photograph of his family.

"The photo features Duke, his wife Dorothy, and their two sons, Thomas and Charles, seated on a park bench. Remarkably, for over 40 years, this family portrait, along with Duke's boot print, has remained undisturbed on the moon. In a symbolic way, Duke not only brought his family to the moon, but they also stayed there indefinitely."

However social media users were quick to see a flaw in the sweet gesture. One wrote: "Saw a YouTube video that broke this down and apparently bc of the solar radiation and that it’s a Polaroid, that picture would be faded or completely gone at this point."

Another claimed: "Untouched and undisturbed yes, but unfortunately not much is left of the actual photo, as the UV light from the sun has most probably faded all the colors on it."

While the snap may have faded over time, it is possible a message written on the back of it survived. It said: "This is the family of Astronaut Duke from Planet Earth, who landed on the Moon on the twentieth of April 1972."

The photo is not the only thing Duke left on the moon – he also deposited a commemorative medal given out by the Air Force in recognition of its 25th anniversary that year. And Duke is one of many astronauts to leave earthly possessions on our moon's surface.

Some man-made items found there are less sentimental than Duke's offering. There are moon buggies and other equipment left there as well as debris from missions.

Other items left there include golf balls and a statue known as Fallen Astronaut, an aluminium sculpture created by Belgian artist Paul Van Hoeydonck and left by Apollo 15 astronauts.